


3 Worlds Nishikato Never Lived In

by ununoriginal



Category: Bleach, NewS (Band), Stardust - Neil Gaiman
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-11-22
Updated: 2008-11-22
Packaged: 2017-12-15 09:25:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,954
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/847922
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ununoriginal/pseuds/ununoriginal
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Pretty much self-explanatory. Ryo/Shige. Totally AU.</p>
            </blockquote>





	3 Worlds Nishikato Never Lived In

**Author's Note:**

> There was apparently a JE fairytale fic-a-thon going on somewhere and I thought I'd join in the fun, but these turned out a little different.

[_Painted Skin_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Painted_Skin_%282008_film%29)  
  
She's rumbled to wakefulness amidst bales of dry hay, on the back of a trundling cart, smuggled into the town together with one of the last few farmers seeking the sanctuary of stone walls for the night.  As the cart turns off the main street leading from the towering wooden gates, Erika hops off, her pack firmly tied across her back and left hand clasped tightly around her grandfather's legacy.  
  
Twilight has fallen as she wanders down the narrow side streets, but it's still abnormally deserted for a town of this size.  She thinks she can sense eyes, inquisitive or suspicious, depending on her mood, following her passage as she looks for a place to while away the hours till the next morning.  
  
Most of the shops have closed, their lanterns dimmed and banners folded, but upon turning a corner, she spies soft yellow light spilling from a half-open doorway, above which hangs the sign for bed and board.  As she hurriedly makes her way towards the inn, she glimpses a figure, carrying himself with the light assured step of a swordsman, entering the building.  
  
She's already seated at a table with food and drink, the only occupant under the draughty rafters, when the guest she supposes she saw earlier trudges down the wooden stairs leading to the second level.  Engrossed in filling her empty stomach, she pays him no mind until a minor ruckus ensues at the neighbouring table.  
  
“I'm sorry, Nishikido-sama,” the serving boy is saying placatingly.  “But the last of the _sake_ has all been ordered by that guest over there.”  
  
Erika turns more fully in their direction.  'Nishikido-sama' is a slim, scruffy, dark-skinned man, apparently not much older than her, until she notices the world-weariness in his dark eyes that make him seem almost ancient.    
  
She nods in acknowledgment and gestures him over.  “It's alright, we can share if you don't mind,” she offers, indicating the spread upon the table.    
  
Nishikido contemplates her, and then the food and alcohol, before he rises to join her, nodding his thanks.  
  
“Are you new in town?” she asks him in between bitefuls.  
  
His answer comes long after, when she's wondering if she had only given voice to the question in her own mind.  
  
“No, I've merely been... away, for a long time.”  Nishikido sets down his bowl and chopsticks after that, concentrating on his drink.  
  
Erika respectfully keeps quiet, mulling absently to herself his possible reasons for travel, and they spend the next half hour in reasonably companionable silence.  
  
Then belly full, she's almost ready to pester the serving boy for a place to lie in front of the kitchen hearth when the main door to the inn gets pushed open with a creak.  
  
Shortly after, a young man settles down in the seat across the table from Nishikido's in a gentle flurry of apple-green silk brocade.    
  
Erika takes her measure of the newcomer as he watches Nishikido watch his drink.  She notes the round face and fair skin under the slightly messy short hair, the large eyes that roam over Nishikido's hunched figure, seeming to miss nothing.  A pained frown furrows his brow the more he looks at Nishikido, but then his features smooth out, leaving only the pallor in his cheeks, highlighted by the tension along his jaw.  
  
“You left without saying farewell earlier, Ryo.”  The stranger breaks their impasse with his deep, husky voice.  
  
Nishikido merely shrugs, keeping his face downcast.  
  
Erika begins to feel like it's time for her to adjourn from this increasingly tense situation when the other speaks again.  
  
“There's a demon in this town.”  
  
Suddenly, Erika becomes very awake.  
  
The young man keeps his eyes only on Nishikido, his expression perfectly serious.  Her dinner companion finally deigns to glance up, his lips curled in a half-derisive sneer.  “There's no such things as demons, Shige.”  
  
Shige closes his eyes briefly, and Erika doesn't miss the fatigue that crosses his face.  He draws in a breath and opens his eyes, focusing on a point somewhere past Nishikido's shoulder, and proceeds to tell his story.  
  
Ever since the general, Yamashita, has rescued a young man during a raid on the bandits and brought him back to the town, there has been a rash of murders, each victim with their heart cut out in one clean stroke.  It's either a highly skilled swordsman, or a demon.    
  
As General Yamashita's military advisor and right-hand man, Shige begins to have suspicions and investigates, making inquiries with the town's resident onmyouji, Morimoto.  Morimoto confirms what Shige has been suspecting, that the mysterious young man, Koyama, is not human.  
  
The next day finds Morimoto dead, his heart excavated in the same brutal fashion.  
  
Shige and Koyama are practising archery in the yard when the string on Koyama's bow snapped wildly, cutting his face deeply and streaking it with blood.  Shige turns away in a fluster, wanting to call for help, but Koyama stops him, saying he's fine.  When Shige looks again, Koyama's skin is flawless.  
  
“Koyama is such a sweet, wonderful man, very helpful and eager to learn.  He's made it very clear that he does not intend to leave – he's said he's become an orphan, after his family were killed by bandits and he himself imprisoned as their slave.  The troops and household retainers all adore Koyama – he makes every effort to look out for everyone... especially – especially Pi.  I mean, the general.”  Shige's voice is calm, measured, like he's recounting a tale from some classic, and not his own harrowing fears.    
  
He pauses, face haunted.  “He's practically become a brother to me as well.  But I still can't overlook his sins.  Too many people are dying, and I fear many more will.”  Shige's hands fist in the folds of his green silk robe.  “No one will believe me – the only one who did is dead.  Koyama's illusion is too complete.”    
  
He looks at Nishikido, relief and desperation in equal measure evident upon his features.  “I've sent you so many letters, hoping, even though I couldn't know if they would ever reach you.”  
  
Nishikido throws back another mouthful of drink, almost slamming the cup back on the table.  “Who would believe that there are truly demons walking this earth?” he scoffs.  
  
“I do.”  
  
Both Nishikido and Shige seem to notice Erika for the first time since Shige stepped into the inn.  
  
Erika reaches inside her robe and draws out the small jar she always has secured to her belt with a braided cord.  The object within is glowing, cool golden-orange light throbbing and ebbing eerily.  “This is one of the tails from a demon fox – it can sense when creatures of its ilk are in the vicinity.  There is a demon within a mile of this building.”  
  
Shige looks at the fox-tail curiously, and his hand reaches out like he wants to bring the jar closer for him to further examine it.  Then he remembers himself and sits back.  He returns his attention to Nishikido.  “The general has increased the number of patrols.  Every night he's out there as well, trying to guard against the threat, but people still die.  Whoever is doing it is mocking us.”    
  
Shige leans forward slightly, eyes beseeching.  “Please, Ryo.  Please help Pi.  You're the only one skilled enough to find the culprit and stop him.”  
  
Nishikido raises his head, and Erika shivers a little at the intensity in his eyes as he finally locks gazes with Shige.  
  
“When have I ever refused you, Shigeaki?”  
  
Shige flinches, but then he forces a smile.  “Thank you, Ryo.”  
  
Quietly, he stands and leaves the way he came.  He doesn't look back.  
  
Nishikido's eyes trail Shige's figure and stay fixed on the doorway after Shige disappears through it.    
  
“I can help you,” Erika says after a few moments.  “I'm a demon hunter.  It's why I came to this town.”  
  
Nishikido shakes his head.  “There's no such things as demons.”  
  
  
The next morning finds Erika blinking groggily into wakefulness from her corner of the room she ended up sharing with Nishikido after she helped him, drunk and stumbling, up the stairs last night.  She brushes away the cobwebs of fingers clutching her wrist with desperate strength and _Shige don't leave get me another drink don't leave why did you go Shige stay with me_ as she dashes out of the room and down the stairs, to where the serving boy is clearing the remains of a morning meal from a table.  
  
There is no one else in the dining hall.    
  
She slams her fist against the banister in frustration, drawing the serving boy's attention.    
  
“Are you looking for Nishikido-sama?” he asks helpfully.  “He asked me if the graveyard is still in the same end of town, so I think he may have gone there.  He just left, you may still be able to catch him.”  
  
Erika hurriedly thanks him and clatters up the steps to gather her things and leave the inn.  At the main entrance, she whips her head left and right until she catches a glimpse of a worn dark blue cloak disappearing amidst the early morning crowd.  She sets off after him, weaving through the passers-by as quick as she can.  
  
They have a demon to catch.  
  
***  
  
[ _Bleach_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bleach_%28manga%29)  
  
There's a warning shout and Matsujun lets go of his near-stranglehold on Shige as the brilliant light cuts down.  Their captors spring back, the swords at Ryo's and Yamapi's neck falling away too as similar cylinders of light encase them.  Slowly they start to rise into the air, Uchi's eyes slightly red, Jin shouting and raging, barely held back by Kame.    
  
Matsujun stares up at him, Ohno's unconscious body still in his arms.  Behind the Sixth Division captain lie the near life-less bodies of Ikuta and Ninomiya.  The other shinigami are all glaring up at the three floating figures, futile resentment and hatred flaring behind their eyes.  
  
Shige has known that this moment would come, the day he met Nishikido Ryo.  
  
  
Kato Shigeaki is a prodigy, and ever since he can remember, he's sensed that he would do great things.  He's risen up to the rank of Captain faster than anyone else in the history of Soul Society.  But now with the Captain's _haori_ across his shoulders, he understands that there should be something more.  
  
It's a routine visit to the Shinigami Training Academy to inspect the soon-to-graduate shinigami recruits, when Shige realises that one of them is gazing, not two steps ahead, where _Kyouka Suigetsu_ 's illusion of him is walking sedately, but straight at him.   
  
Nishikido Ryo joins the Fifth Division as a fifth seat but becomes Vice-Captain in the space of six months.    
  
“How do you do it, see through the illusions?” Shige asks one day, catching hold of Ryo's wrist as the other shinigami is turning away from Shige's desk, a sheaf of reports in hand.  
  
“I don't know.  I just do.”  
  
Shige nods idly, admiring the contrast between their skin tones as he rubs his thumb over the smooth skin on the back of Ryo's tanned wrist.  “It's an interesting thing to think about,” he remarks.  “Why you're the only one who can really see me.”  
  
He draws Ryo closer, lifting his head up as Ryo bends down, leaning in towards him.  
  
  
When Shige asks Ryo to leave the Fifth Division and captain his own, it's the only time he sees uncertainty flicker in the depths of Ryo's eyes.    
  
Ryo rises from Shige's bed, picking up his black shinigami robes from the floor and slides his arms into the sleeves, concealing the scratch marks scoring his back that Shige has been lazily counting.  
  
“Do you not want to go, Ryo?”  
  
Ryo remains silent, slowly tying the sash around his thin waist.  
  
“Oh, Ryo, we can never achieve great things if we hold onto sentiment, but, you will be the only thing I would want to bring with me, when I eventually move on from this place.”  
  
Ryo pauses at the door and gives Shige one final glance before he leaves.  
  
  
Shige stands behind Ryo in front of the mirror, watching Ryo's reflection as he delicately peels back the white fabric of the Captain's overcoat from Ryo's slim shoulders.  
  
“You've never asked me why I want to do this.”  Shige keeps his eyes on the image of Ryo's face as he sets the _haori_ aside and reaches around to the front of Ryo's waist to loosen the sash.  
  
Ryo's hands come up to rest lightly over Shige's.  “We all need our reasons to go on living.”  
  
“And what is yours?”  Shige steps closer and tightens his arms around Ryo, resting his chin on Ryo's shoulder.   
  
Ryo turns to look at him directly, his soft hair brushing Shige's cheek with the movement.  “To be by your side, helping you fulfill your ambition.”  And he tilts his head a little more to meet Shige's lips.  
  
It's the first and last time Ryo says it, and Shige never asks again.  
  
  
People think Shige wants to take over the world, to rule or destroy it on a whim.  All he wants to do is merely see how far he can take things, to stretch the limits of his potential.  
  
But the world's beliefs don't matter.  
  
Shige looks down to meet the dark endless gaze staring back up at him as they both rise into the eternal darkness.  
  
The one who truly sees him is right beside him.  
  
***  
  
[ _Stardust_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stardust_%282007_film%29)  
  
Shige opens his eyes after the explosion to see a figure huddled in what appears to be a dark-blue ratty bathrobe right at the center of the crater and is not very impressed.  Climbing to his feet, he makes his way unsteadily over, shaking his head to try and clear the ringing in his ears.  
  
Carefully, he turns the figure over and spends thirty seconds staring at the tanned, flat chest.  
  
There must have been a mistake – in all the books he's read, the stars were always female.  
  
  
Ryo blinks up at the young man bent over him, wondering what in the world just happened - one moment he's preparing to bathe in the Milky Way, and the next moment he's staring up at the firmament, which appears to be very far away.  
  
Suddenly the horrific thought strikes him.  
  
“Oh bloody hell!  I've fallen!”   He pushes himself off the ground in a spurt of frustrated energy, drawing his bathrobe tightly about him as he twists around in a circle, trying to take in all of his surroundings at once.  
  
“What?”  Shige stares at Ryo in bewilderment.  
  
“Was it you?” Ryo whirls around, glaring at Shige.  “If this is your fault, I expect you to find a way to return me back home!”  
  
In response, Shige nervously uncoils a silver chain that shoots out and slithers around Ryo's wrist.  Male or not, he's promised to bring Yui a star and he's doing it, even though he wonders how he's going to convince her that this unshiny, grumpy, obviously male creature is actually a heavenly body.  
  
They manage to haul themselves out of the crater, Ryo kicking up a fuss and dragging his steps the entire way.  He wants to go home, not to some place across some stupid Wall he's never even heard of.  
  
As they trudge through the thick woods, Shige, his mind on trying to remember the way back to his village, distractedly promises that he'll try and help Ryo go home, but only once he's shown Ryo to Yui so she'll agree to marry him.  
  
Ryo stops short at Shige's absent answer.  “That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard!  Obviously she _doesn't_ want to marry you, which is why the impossible demand.  Just fulfill her wish and give up.”  
  
Shige decides to ignore the star after that – it's just his luck that he _would_ get a star that spews expletives, it's no wonder it's looking so... _tarnished._  
  
When it becomes dark, they stop in a clearing and sit side by side under a tree, huddled together for warmth.  Ryo still only has that ratty bathrobe and Shige isn't too well off himself, but at least he still has his shirt and undershirt.  A little reluctantly, he shrugs out of his jacket and holds it out to the pathetic-looking celestial body.  “Here, it's only going to get colder.”  
  
“And whose fault is it that I'm here on this icy, hard ground, freezing my ass off?” Ryo snaps as he ungraciously snatches the jacket out of Shige's hand and swiftly wriggles into it, stuffing his hands into the pockets.  
  
“Look, I already said I'll try and help you get back,” Shige says, feeling a bit guilty as he looks at the drooping figure.  
  
Ryo refuses to return his gaze.  “Whatever,” he retorts sullenly, picking at the grass beside where he's sitting.  
  
Shige sighs and leans back against the tree trunk, closing his eyes.  
  
After a while, Shige feels a sudden weight drop against his shoulder, and he jerks out of his light doze to discover Ryo's head resting upon his shoulder.  He shifts restlessly and nuzzles his nose against the fabric of Shige's shirt.  Gently, Shige shifts the star down so Ryo can rest his head upon his lap.  
  
The star curls up into a tiny ball, turning his face into the warmth radiating from Shige's thigh as he tries to get more comfortable.  
  
Before he can stop himself, Shige starts stroking Ryo's hair softly.  He just wants to make sure Ryo's feeling fine, he tells himself – it won't do for the star to expire before Yui ever gets to see it.  
  
In his sleep, Ryo's lips curve up in a tiny smile and just very faintly, he begins to shine.


End file.
